CIPD economic advisor champions “underlying” UK job market

The “underlying” UK labour market is performing well, according to the chief economic advisor at the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD).

According to recruiter.co.uk, John Philpott spoke at the International Confederation of Private Employment Agencies (Ciett) World Employment Conference in London this week. He told delegates that the employment market must be distinguished from the overall economy, as the former is outperforming the latter.

The CIPD representative was not the only celebrated name discussing jobs in London this week. Trades Union Congress general secretary Brendan Barber also made an appearance at the Ciett event to champion the role of recruiters in the wider economy.

Mr Philpott went on to call on the government to help create more jobs, saying: “The government can borrow at zero per cent interest, it should borrow more and spend it on infrastructure projects.”

One of the other points he made at the conference related to the importance of labour flexibility in the country, which is an argument that Ciett has also put forward recently. Sandro Pettineo, policy advisor at the organisation, told the OECD Working Party on Employment that temporary work helps labour market resilience.

Among the arguments for such employment, reported ciett.org, were that it “facilitates pathways” to further jobs and increases labour market diversity.